Trash compactor and bag system

ABSTRACT

A trash compactor includes a container and a ram for compacting waste materials deposited therein, and a reusable liner positioned within the container receives the waste material, and facilitates removal of the waste material after compaction thereof. The liner has interfitting sections each with upstanding sidewalls and a bottom wall with one side wall of each of the sections being shortened to permit their ready assembly and disassembly. A tubular bag of seamless plastic sheet material having one sealed end is placed in the liner. The bag has a cuff portion which folds over the upper end of the liner and the container. Holes in the cuff portion engage buttons on the exterior of the container. The bag is longer than the liner depth to permit the sealed bag end to bunch in the bottom of the liner, and when a bag of compacted trash is removed, the material drops to the sealed end of the bag leaving an excess at the cuff portion for closing the open end of the bag. The holes may then provide a means for engaging a tie to close the bag.

United States Patent 1 Engebretsen -51 Sept. 4, 1973 TRASH COMPACTOR ANDBAG SYSTEM Einar O. Engebretsen, Troy, Ohio [73] Assignee: The HobartManufacturing Company, Troy, Ohio 22 Filed: Jan. 3, 1972 211 App]. No.2214,804

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 100/215, 100/229 A, 229/53 [51] Int. Cl 1330b 15/30 [58]Field of Search 229/53; 100/218,

Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Att0rney-Lawrence B. Biebel, Joseph G.Nauman et a].

[5 7] ABSTRACT A trash compactor includes a container and a ram forcompacting waste materials deposited therein, and a reusable linerpositioned within the container receives the waste material, andfacilitates removal of the waste material after compaction thereof. Theliner has interfitting sections each with upstanding sidewalls and abottom wall with one side wall of each of the sections being shortenedto permit their ready assembly and disassembly. A tubular bag ofseamless plastic sheet material having one sealed end is placed in theliner. The bag has a cuff portion which folds over the upper end of theliner and the container. Holes in the cuff portion engage buttons on theexterior of the container. The bag is longer than the liner depth topermit the sealed bag end to bunch in the bottom of the liner, and whena bag of compacted trash is removed, the material drops to the sealedend of the bag leaving an excess at the cuff portion for closing theopen end of the bag. The holes may then provide a means for engaging atie to close the bag.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEnsw 4191a SHEU 1 0F 2 TRASH COMPACTORAND BAG SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION A number of domestic trash compactor units utilize disposablebags which are placed within the compactor to receive the refuse andinto which the material is compacted. Heretofore such bags have beengenerally of a special, laminated construction which incorporates layersfor strength and other layers for moisture proofing. These bags arerelatively expensive and they represent a continuing considerableexpense for the compac' tor user, but lighter weight bags have not beenparticularly successful in these units because such bags tend to tearand tend to be drawn into the container during compaction, thus becomeuseless and only adding to the difficulty of removing the compactedtrash.

Other units of this type utilize a one-piece, more or lessself-supporting container, into which the waste material is depositeddirectly and subsequently compacted. With this type of containerproblems arise in removing the compacted material from the container.While tapering the container side walls may provide some alleviation ofthis problem, it will be seen that this results in a loss of containervolume and of course, there may still be difficulty in removing thecompacted materials particularly if it is wet or sticky. Furthermore,wet or sticky materials tend to leave soil on the container, causingodor and sanitation problems which require that the container be washedfrequently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a compactorwhich utilizes a special disposable bag, preferably supported within amulti-piece composite liner of a substantially rigid, self-supportingmaterial, which in turn is supported in and removable from the trashreceiving container of the machine. The bag is preferably constructed asa seamless tubular member having one sealed end, of a lengthsufficiently greater than the container depth permitting the sealed endof the bag to bunch in the bottom of the container (or liner whereused), and leaving a cuff portion for folding over the upper end of thecontainer.

Holes in the cuff portion are positioned to engage over buttons orequivalent hooking members to hold the bag against friction forcestending to draw it into the container during compacting operations. Thebunched end of the bag avoids stress on the sealed end duringcompaction, and also leaves room for compacted trash to drop into thesealed bag end as the bag is removed, thus leaving anexcess of materialat the cuff portion for tieing the open upper end of the bag.

Because the liner is formed as two, substantially rigid sections, whenit is used the compacted material is readily removed by separating thetwo liner sections to free the bag.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive bagparticularly adaptable for use in trash compacting machines; to providesuch a bag which will resist the friction of compacting forces tendingto draw the bag into the machines container; to provide a seamlesstubular bag with a sealed folded end and a cuff portion at its open endincluding holes dimensioned for a force fit over retainer buttons orhooks at the upper exterior of the container; and to provide such a bagof a length sufficiently greater than the depth of the container toallow the sealed end of the bag to bunch into a slack condition at thebottom of the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view withthe side cover removed, showing the container in its withdrawn positionin dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view with the container retracted and theliner and bag above its FIG. 3 is a view of the drawer partially insection showing details of the bag assembled in the container;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the bag cuff mountedover the edge of a container incorporating a removable liner;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing some compacted material inthe bag;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the liner removed from the container, andwith its parts separated to free a bag of compacted material fordisposal;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bag as provided b the invention; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams showing one manner by which thebags can be made.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, a typical compactor in which the bag of the present inventionfinds utility includes an upstanding cabinet 11 housing a trashcontainer or receptacle 12 formed in a drawer structure 13 slidable onrails 14 between an accessible, non-compacting position shown in dottedlines in FIG. 1 and a compacting position shown in full lines. Housing11 also encloses a ram 16 carrying a motor 18 and driving a chain 20.Chain 20 wraps three, triangularly disposed drive nuts 22 (only two ofwhich are shown in FIG. 1) which engage stationary screw-threaded rods24. The housing 11 is also provided with an upper door 26, pivotallymounted to move between the positions shown in FIG. 1. Received withinthe receptacle or drawer 12 there may be a liner 32 (FIG. 2) whichincludes a pair of cooperating sections 34 and 36 (FIG. 6), each formedof a substantially rigid material such as polyethylene. Section 34includes a bottom 38, upstanding side walls 40, and end walls 42 and 44.Walls 40 and 42 are of substantially the same height as the walls of thereceptacle 12, but upstanding wall 44 is appreciably shorter than theremaining walls as shown.

Section 36 also has a bottom 38a and includes upstanding side walls 40aand end walls 42a and 44a. Walls 40a and 420 are substantially the sameheight as that of the container 12, and wall 44a is appreciably shorter,approximately the same height as the wall 44. The bottom of section 36is somewhat smaller than section 34, to nest therein and cooperativelyto define a complete liner assembly.

It will also be noted that the liner is provided with handles 56 and 58formed in the sections 34 and 36, respectively. Additionally, the draweror sliding receptacle I2 is provided with a notch 60 in each of itsupper edges of its side walls, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1,with the handles 56 and 58 aligned with and accessible through notches60. Finally, it will be noted that each of the sections is provided withribs 62 integrally formed on the exterior surfaces of the liner sectionsand extending from the tops thereof to points spaced from the bottomwalls thereof.

An important feature of the present invention is the disposable tubularbag, made of seamless sheet material, which is used to receive the trashto be compacted. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of such a bag 65, andFIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the manner in which these bags can beconstructed from a seamless tube of plastic sheet material, such aspolyethylene. The bag is shown in FIG. 7 in a fully erected form, withthe folded lower end of the bag having a sealed seam 66, preferablyformed as a heat seal, and also having an upper cuff portion 68 with anumber of appropriately placed holes 70 which serve to retain the bag inposition within the compactor, as presently described. In a successfullyused embodiment of the invention, bags were formed of seamlesspolyethylene having a thickness of from 4 to 6 mils, by forming a tubeof material to produce infolds at each side of the tube, producing aflattened sheet of four thicknesses at the sides and two thicknesses inthe center, essentially as shown in FIG. 8. This is a conventional wayof forming such material into a connected series of bags sealed at oneend. Such an arrangement is indicated in FIG. 9, wherein the perforatedlines 72 indicate partially severed connections between successivelyformed bags, and the solid lines 73 indicate heat seals formed acrossthe material to form the sealed ends 66.

This is customarily accomplished by engaging the moving web or tube ofmaterial with a heat sealing device (not shown) and in accordance withthe present invention the holes 70 may be formed through the material atthe same time. Thus, the bags can be formed by conventional methods andmachinery, with only minor changes in the mechanism required. Thisinvolves the addition of a pair of punches 75 and corresponding dieholes 76 (FIG. 8) which can be mounted to reciprocate with the heatsealing device, so as to perforate the tube or web of the plasticmaterial at the same time the heat seal is formed. In order to form theholes 70 sufficiently spaced apart in the wider sides of the bag, asshown in FIG. 7, the perforations are made at a location where fourthicknesses of the folded tubular material are presented to the punchand die sets. This merely causes extra holes in the narrower walls ofthe bag, as shown in FIG. 7, but these are of no particular need in thepresent invention.

In a typical embodiment the receptacle is approximately 18 inches deep,and the liner members will likewise be of about the same depth in thoseinstances where the separable liner is used. The bags are formedconsiderably longer, for example, in the order of 30 to 36 inches inlength, in the folded form. When the bag is spread to the position shownin FIG. 7, the heat sealed bottom will shorten somewhat, but there issufficient slack due to excess material that the bag material is bunchedin the bottom of the receptacle (or liner) as shown in FIG. 3. Thisavoids placing any strain upon the heat sealed end of the bag during thecompacting operations. The upper cuff portion 68 of the bag issufficiently long to fold over the upper end of the receptacle, bringingthe holes into alignment with retainer projections on the upper exteriorside walls of the receptacle 12. These projections preferably are in theform of plastic button members 80, one of which is shown in detail inFIG. 4. The head of the button member is somewhat larger than its shank,which is suitably fastened to the wall of the receptacle. This may bedone, for example, by a bolt (not shown) extending through thereceptacle wall into the button member 80. The bag material is somewhatflexible and streachable, and the size of the hole 70 is preferably madesomewhat smaller than the size of the head of the button members, hencethe bag material is forced over the head of the button member and thisassures that the bag does not accidentally pull off the button member,especially when material is being compacted.

The front of the drawer 13 includes a compartment formed with side walls84, and each of these has an appropriate relief allowing the cuffportion of the bag to fit over the front upper end of the receptacle 12.This compartment provides a convenient storage place for a supply of thedisposable bags 65, which may for example be provided either in rolls orpreferably in fan folded packets which can be kept in the compartmentspace. The cover 87 for this compartment is hinged to the upper frontedge of the drawer structure, at 88, and in its lower position thiscover also functions as a chute having a lower edge which extends downpast the upper edge of receptacle 12. The region inside the upper door26 is separated from the ram structure and its drive mechanism by a wall90, thus providing an area within the front upper portion of thecompactor where small or middle size trash articles can be placedwithout the necessity of pulling the main drawer 13 to its open positioneach time. When the drawer structure 13 is open, these articles willpass down the cover 87 into the bag within the receptacle. At the sametime, the wall 90 prevents any access to the mechanism through the upperdoor 26, hence there is no danger in placing small articles in this areaof the machine, even while it is operating. The main drawer structure,including the receptacle 12 is however provided with suitable safetyinterlocks and a positive retaining latch (not shown) to assure that thecompacting ram can function only when the drawer structure andreceptacle is in the compacting position shown in FIG. 1. Details ofthese arrangements are not illustrated nor described since they do notform a part of the present invention.

Where the separable multi-piece liner is used, once the bag 65 issufficiently filled with compacted material, it may be detached from thebutton members 80, and the liner with the loaded bag inside can readilybe lifted from the receptacle 12, by withdrawing the liner upwardlyessentially to the position shown in FIG. 2. The sections of the linercan then be separated, at least partially, as shown in FIG. 6 to permiteasy removal of the bag. The extending cuff portion 68 provides aconvenient means for grasping the upper end of the bag, and as theloaded bag is withdrawn, the compacted material will tend to drop intothe slack portion of the sealed lower end of the bag, leaving sufficientmaterial at the top of the bag to be folded and tied or otherwisesecured in a sealed condition which minimizes odors from material in thebag and assures that any liquids contained therein will be properlyretained. As previously mentioned, use of the separable liner member isoptional, and it will be apparent from the description and drawings thatthe bag 65 can be placed directly within the receptacle l2 and securedthereto, in which case the loaded bags will merely be withdrawn upwarddirectly from the receptacle when they are sufficiently full.

It has been found during repeated use of the bag provided by thisinvention, together with the retaining projections such as the buttonmembers 80, that the bag is secured to the upper end of the receptaclein such a way that frictional forces acting against the walls of the bagwithin the receptacle during compacting, tending to draw the bagmaterial down into the receptacle, are fully resisted by the retainingarrangement, there is little or no tearing of the bag material aroundthe holes 70, and the bags have consistently remained properly attachedto the upper end of the receptacle during use. This arrangement has beentested through thousands of compacting cycles, and over a thousand ofthe bags have been successfully loaded with compacted trash inaccordance with this disclosure, with practically no failures of the bagretaining arrangement.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For use in a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in saidhousing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, and a containerhaving rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram toreceive items of trash for compaction in said container by movement ofthe ram into said container, said container having buttons on theexterior of opposite sides thereof;

a disposable trash receiving bag fittable within said container andincluding an upper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to bereverse folded around the upper edge of said container,

and said bag having holes in said cuff portion providing a means ofengagement over the buttons on said container to hold the bag inposition on said container against forces tending to draw said cuffportion thereof into the container as trash is compacted within the bagand against the restraint of the container walls.

2. A bag for use in a trash compactor as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid bag is formed as a seamless tubular member of plastic materialhaving the end thereof opposite from said cuff portion sealed to form aliquid tight lower end of the bag, said bag being substantially greaterin length than the depth of the container providing for folding of saidcuff portion about the upper edge of the container and in additionproviding an excess quantity of bag material at said lower end thereofwithin the container whereby compacted trash within the bag will settleinto such excess portion of the bag as the bag is removed from thecontainer.

3. In a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in said housingand including a reciprocating drive therefor, an access door opening tothe interior of the housing in the region beneath said ram, and an opentop container having rigid walls positionable in said housing beneathsaid ram to receive and restrain items of trash for compaction in saidcontainer by movement of the ram into said container, said containerhaving retainer projections from the exterior of its top on oppositesides thereof; the improvement comprising a thin flexible trashreceiving bag fittable within said container and including an upper cuffportion of sufficient length and width to be reverse folded around thetop edge of said container,

and said bag having holes in said cuff portion engaging over saidprojections on said container to hold the bag in position on saidcontainer against forces tending to draw said cufiportion thereof intothe container as trash is compacted within the bag against the restraintof said container walls.

4. A trash compactor as defined in claim 3, including a removable rigidliner of a plurality of interfitting separable parts within saidcontainer and receiving said bag,

said container walls providing the restraint for the liner and said bagagainst compacting force,

and said liner being removable and separable to release a full bag fromthe compactor.

1. For use in a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted in saidhousing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, and a containerhaving rigid walls positionable in said housing beneath said ram toreceive items of trash for compaction in said container by movement ofthe ram into said container, said container having buttons on theexterior of opposite sides thereof; a disposable trash receiving bagfittable within said container and including an upper cuff portion ofsufficient length and width to be reverse folded around the upper edgeof said container, and said bag having holes in said cuff portionproviding a means of engagement over the buttons on said container tohold the bag in position on said container against forces tending todraw said cuff portion thereof into the container as trash is compactedwithin the bag and against the restraint of the container walls.
 2. Abag for use in a trash compactor as defined in claim 1, wherein said bagis formed as a seamless tubular member of plastic material having theend thereof opposite from said cuff portion sealed to form a liquidtight lower end of the bag, said bag being substantially greater inlength than the depth of the container providing for folding of saidcuff portion about the upper edge of the container and in additionproviding an excess quantity of bag material at said lower end thereofwithin the container whereby compacted trash within the bag will settleinto such excess portion of the bag as the bag is removed from thecontainer.
 3. In a trash compactor having a housing, a ram mounted insaid housing and including a reciprocating drive therefor, an accessdoor opening to the interior of the housing in the region beneath saidram, and an open top container having rigid walls positionable in saidhousing beneath said ram to receive and restrain items of trash forcompaction in said container by movement of the ram into said container,said container having retainer projections from the exterior of its topon opposite sides thereof; the improvement comprising a thin flexibletrash receiving bag fittable within said container and including anupper cuff portion of sufficient length and width to be reverse foldedaround the top edge of said container, and said bag having holes in saidcuff portion engaging over said projections on said container to holdthe bag in position on said container against forces tending to drawsaid cuff portion thereof into the container as trash is compactedwithin the bag against the restraint of said container walls.
 4. A trashcompactor as defined in claim 3, including a removable rigid liner of aplurality of interfitting separable parts within said container andreceiving said bag, said container walls providing the restraint for theliner and said bag against compacting force, and said liner beingremovable and separable to release a full bag from the compactor.